The French sent young girls to marry in Alabama in 1719

When Alabama was first settled by the French, they faced a big problem. There was a shortage of women so France came up with a solution. They recruited a number of young women to settle in Alabama and sent them to Alabama to become wives of the early colonists.

They were conspicuous by reason of their virtue. Normally women were supplied to the colonists by raking the streets of Paris for undesirables, or by emptying the houses of correction. The cassette girls, however, were recruited from church charitable institutions, usually orphanages and convents, and, although poor, were practically guaranteed to be virgins.

These young women were quickly named the ‘cassette’ girls because the French government gave each volunteer some clothing and a small trunk called a ‘cassette’ to take with them to America. Some of the young ladies died of illness after arrival or fell ill aboard ship. The first consignment reached Mobile in 1704, Biloxi in 1719. On arrival they all soon found mates among the male colonists.

Location of Mobile, Alabama

The book “Old Mobile Fort Louis de la Lousiane 1702-1711” by Jay Higginbotham, (University of Alabama Press): Describes their shipboard experiences and the travel to Mobile. It also tells whom they actually married, and there are some children named when it was known or documented. Jay Higginbotham is the archivist in Mobile, Alabama. There are notes which reference the resource where the information was found, dates etc..

I did read it carefully ,and I read that the French settled Alabama ,not that the French settled in Alabama ,you can create something that has already been created ,so no contention here simply facts The AMERICAN INDIANS WERE ALREADY HERE and settled !!!

The French were successful in taking up residence in Alabama. The Americans Indians have been in the Americas forever. The information just references to the start of the European being successful in settlement. 🙂 Happy New Year!

Wendy if you were so proud of your heritage, you would speak of it correctly. “Native Americans”! American Indian would be a person from India now a citizen of America. Christopher Columbus just thought he landed in India…..

I am very proud of who I am and please spell my name right ,it is spelled this way for a reason and if you want to be so technical I am a CHEROKEE Indian and my ANCESTORS were here long before anyone else ,so do you feel better ,and Columbus did think that he landed in India but that does not mean that an AMERICAN Indian was from India ,just because a person thinks that they are in one place does not change the name or the geological graphics of a place it simply means that person was wrong about where he was Patrick Parsons

Im not offended ,however I truly wish that people would get history right ,and yes I am aware that history is written by those that won even by spreading DISEASE and hunting the lands to extinction ,by driving the INDIANS off of their lands and starving and murdering them into submission ,if you want to pretend that I am offended well that’s your right to be miss- informed / wrong with the rest of em

Wow y’all are trying to make my comments out to be wrong ,oh well I know what’s is right and I’m not scared to point out when something is wrong ,I will stand up for what I believe in without ever giving in ,I am a direct descendant of the Shoemake blood line of CHEROKEE in North Alabama and I know that my ANCESTORS settled here and were already hunting these lands and any one that feels that I am wrong can easily find what I am saying to be the truth.

Everyone is saying you are right Windy… No one person is making you out to be “wrong”… The thing that everyone is saying is that NO ONE CARES… Because we all know you are right and we are talking about something different, more recent… Get over yourself and your history and learn about a more recent history (which does not deny yours)…

Is this the same as the casquette girls? I have ancestors who were on the previous ships (taken from the prisons in Paris and such) including two who were Baliene Brides. But I haven’t found if any of mine were Casquette Girls yet. I will have to check out that book.

I too am Cherokee. My paternal grandmother was full-bloodied Cherokee. It mean that I am at least one-fourth Cherokee, and I also received some Cherokee from my mother’s side, about one-eighth. I treasure my Native American heritage. I have visited Cherokee, North Carolina and found it extremely interesting and fascinating! I recommend to anyone who haws Native Americas blood to search their ancestry.

We are excited here at AP. Our latest volume in our popular Alabama Footprints series has been released.

The eighth edition, BANISHED, documents The Indian Removal Act called for the “voluntary or forcible removal of all Indians” residing in the eastern United States to the west of the Mississippi River. Between 1831 and 1837, approximately 46,000 Native Americans were forced to leave their homes in southeastern states. Available in paperback and ebook at this link

Our Grist Mill Podcast

Listen to the latest episodes of our new Alabama Grist Mill Podcast

Newsletter Signup

Sign up to receive our daily email of our new stories.

Name:

Email:

Great news, we've signed you up.Sorry, we weren't able to sign you up. Please check your details, and try again.